Tribune file photo
A dead Cottonwood leaf sits on cracked and dried mud at the edge of a shallow Platte River this past summer in Evans. The dry conditions throughout the year made 2012 the driest on record.

Stalks of cut wheat sit in a field just south of the town of Nunn as a hot afternoon sun beat down earlier this year. Experts say 2012 stands as the hottest and driest year on record for Greeley.
JIM RYDBOM/jrydbom@greeleytribune.com